A horse race is a competition in which runners compete against each other over long distances. The races can be held on dirt or on grass and are typically run over distances ranging from 440 yards to two miles. Horses are trained to accelerate quickly and run with power. A winner of a horse race is determined by the first to cross the finish line. Horse racing is a popular sport in the United States and throughout the world. The popularity of the sport has led to a variety of innovations and technological advancements.
Some new developments in the field of horse racing have made it possible to create a more accurate prediction of winners. One innovation is called probabilistic forecasting, which combines multiple opinion polls to provide a more conclusive estimate of each candidate’s chance of winning over another. Many news outlets use this type of reporting to inform their coverage of political elections.
However, research shows that probabilistic forecasting discourages voters from voting, by highlighting candidates with very low or very high chances of winning. It also hurts third-party and minor-party candidates by giving them a smaller share of the attention that is usually given to the two main candidates in an election. This is because the polling data that is used to calculate odds of a victory tends to focus on frontrunners and excludes candidates who may be more interesting or more popular but have lower chances of winning.
In recent years scholars have begun to study the effect of this strategy on voters. They have found that it is particularly harmful to voters who are not partisan, and that it has the greatest impact on young people. These voters may develop deep feelings of mistrust toward politics and the issues featured in news stories that are framed as horse races.
During the Preakness that year, War of Will took an early lead, with McKinzie a close second and Mongolian Groom off to the rear. At the starting gate, though, the horse balked. Horses often balk when they are nervous, and bettors look carefully at a horse’s coat in the walking ring before a race to see whether it is bright and rippling with muscled excitement. In this case, the Mongolian horse’s coat was fine. But the horse was frightened, or perhaps angry, and the rider, Abel Cedillo, had to let him go. He did so with a flourish that made the crowd gasp.